Hites advanced 0.9 percent to 560 pesos at 1:31 p.m. in
Santiago, bringing its gain this year to 37 percent, as Forus
rallied 1.2 percent to 3,319 pesos, leaving it up 23 percent
since December. Retail stocks are the top five performers among
the 40 members of the benchmark Ipsa stock index this quarter.

“The whole sector is benefiting from positive economic
data in Chile and the region,” Juan Pablo Castillo, an analyst
at Banco Penta in Santiago, said in a telephone interview.
“Inflation is low, growth in Chile is above 5 percent and
retail sales are expanding more than gross domestic product.”

Ripley Corp SA, Chile’s fourth-biggest retailer by market
value, has jumped 19 percent this year, while No.1 SACI
Falabella has climbed 15 percent and Cencosud SA, the country’s
second biggest, added 14 percent. Investors are encouraged by
Chilean retailers’ plans to expand in Peru and Colombia, where
consumer markets are less developed and there’s more room for
growth, Castillo said.

Chilean retailers posted a 0.3 percent median decline in
earnings in 2012 as companies increased provisions for bad
loans, Castillo said. Earnings will grow an average 24 percent
this year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.